14th place for Gareth

Rudy Project Round 4 (Stourbridge CC - Worcester) - 06/08/2005 - K22/14

Still recovering with ‘heavy legs’ from a week long trip mountain biking in the French Alps with team mate Ian Dalton, Gareth Williams could only manage a 14th place in the latest national round of the Rudy Project Time Trial Series held near Worcester.

The course was undulating all the way around with no flat sections to help keep a time trialling rhythm going. There were sections of the course were speeds were at 45 mph and then just a few metres later it was down to 13mph on a climb. Although the day was sunny and warm, a nagging breeze made the last leg of the circuit hard work but the opening few miles compensated for this with a tailwind and which was also predominantly down hill.

Covering the first of 2 laps in a time of 33.06, it was the second lap were Gareth really suffered and the continuous undulating terrain finally took its toll. Gareth covered the second lap of the course 2 minutes slower than his first which pushed him down the overall standings by quite a few places.

Event winner was series leader Michael Hutchinson (API – Metrow) who beat Zak Carr (Team Clean) into second place by nearly a minute to prove his dominance of this event continues.

‘This sort of course would normally have suited me’, said Gareth after the race, ‘but with recent illness and just coming back from a trip mountain biking my legs just wouldn’t get turning properly today. I am very disappointed with my performance today but all I can do now is look to next week and try and rectify that’.